ent demands on their ability, and it is for War
that we have to be prepared.

First of all, in the purely formal side of the training, stress must
especially be laid on those forms of movement which can actually be
applied on the battle-field.

Then, the troops must be exercised to apply these forms not only on
the drill ground, but over every kind of country. Further, the
tactical judgment and independence of the Leaders of all ranks must,
be thoroughly developed. They must not only learn to act on
fundamentally sound principles, but to apply these principles
everywhere where circumstances require rapid decision, utilizing at
once the tactical advantages the ground may offer, and adapting
practically the few forms which can be employed before the enemy in
the field instinctively; and, finally, opportunities must be granted
to the Commanders to practise the combination of locally separated
bodies to a single tactical purpose.

In face of these requirements, it seems to me that our tactical
training remains far too elementary in character, and does not tend
with sufficient directness towards what is alone possible in War.

The blame for this state of affairs rests by no means only on the
shoulders of the troops, but is due to a variety of complex causes
which are difficult to disentangle. In the first place comes the
passive resistance, that moment of inertia which custom and tradition
everywhere oppose to changes, and it is not to be expected that the
troops of their own initiative will be able to abandon the accustomed
ruts, when more especially the methods applied in our inspections are
not always of a nature to encourage such attempts.

A further cause is to be found in the Regulations themselves. These
give no firm foothold for the decision of the question as to what
forms and movements really are practicable in War-time, and, probably
in the endeavours not to hamper too much the initiative of the
Leaders, does not express the principle on which the conduct of the
combat is based with sufficient precision to preclude very different
opinions as to what these principles really are. Finally, the local
conditions of many of our garrisons often create an almost insuperable
difficulty for the proper training of the troops over country.

In face of these conditions, we must strike out new paths for our
guidance if we do not intend to remain behind the times altogether.

We must first, however, be perfectly clear in